Again, my family was full of traitors.
“Why can’t I stay with you?” I asked Kate, and ignored the hurt expression Barry couldn’t hide.
“On the couch? Your body pillow isn’t going to fit either there or in my bed with me. Plus, you know I like to starfish.”
“I have lots of beds,” Barry said.
“And you’ve been sleeping in the murder basement? Why dude?” Jeremy asked. Barry pretended not to hear, still looking at me so steadily and assuredly that this was going to be just fine. Like this wasn’t actually an expensive disaster and it was all going to work out just fine.
“What about Junior?”
“Junior can come too,” he said quickly. “Of course.”
I let out a long exhale and squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. My stomach growled and the hunger made me queasy.
Suddenly, it was just too much. I was crying before I could even try to stop it.
“Oh hon, it’s gonna be alright,” Dad said, already jumping to my side to comfort his pregnant, crying daughter.
“This sucks,” I muttered, and let Dad pull me into his chest.
“This is a good thing,” Dad assured again. “It’s gonna get all worked out.”
I took a shuddering breath and nodded, steeling myself for a few moments before wiping my cheeks and looking back to Barry, Jeremy, and Kate assembled in my backyard. Barry looked shattered at the sight of me crying and also like he was holding back from reaching out to me himself.
“I need to eat something, and then I need to sleep,” I said. “We can figure out the mold and shit after.”
“I’ll help you pack a bag,” Kate said, already moving.
“And I’ll order burritos,” Barry said.
“Jeremy, you go get the cat from my house,” Kate instructed, and he snapped to. If I knew all it took to get this family to move like that was a breakdown, I might have cried more often.
Dad gave me one last squeeze before sending me off with Kate to pack some clothes.
When I had a suitcase and a duffle packed, Kate took them to the car. Barry met me in the living room, looked down at me, and I looked up at him. I sighed, a long and labored sound.
“So we’re doing this.”
“Mhm.”
“Lead the way.”
CHAPTER 26
THE CONDO
I scarfed my burrito in the car on the way to Barry’s house, Junior offering agitated meows from the backseat the whole way. Barry’s apartment building was tall and elegant, and closer to the stadium than my house by a good fifteen minutes. He had his own parking spot in the garage beneath the building, which required keycard access to even get in.
He helped me with the suitcase and bag, and I held Junior in his carrier along with an empty litter box under my arm. Kate remembered to pack food, toys, and treats for him in a neon orange backpack that Barry slung over his shoulder.
The elevator took us up thirteen floors to a hallway with few doors, and the one at the end was Barry’s. I should have expected that the apartment would be stupid nice. Part of me did, I know. I just didn’t expect the apartment to be more square footage than my entire house.
I stood in the doorway taking in the nice, though sparse, entrance. It was open concept: a living room, a dining room, a huge modern kitchen with a big island. Everything was light: tall windows letting in evening glow, white marble countertops, wood cabinets, a cool green subway tile backsplash I liked. It was nice, like something out of a magazine, with none of the cozy corners and low ceilings found in my home. Junior meowed again, low and loud in his carrier, and I looked down at him. He meowed again.
“Fine, fine, sorry,” I muttered, putting him on the ground and unzipping the carrier. He looked wary but ventured out.
I turned to Barry, who studied me.
